It's All in the Chase
by Kanna37
Summary: Elfman gets a lesson on the amatory pursuits of a certain Lion Spirit, with Erza's assistance. Loke/Lucy and Evergreen/Elfman.


**It's All in the Chase**

~~LoLu~~

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Fairy Tail.

~~LoLu~~

"ARGH!" a feminine voice screamed in outrage, which was immediately followed by the sharp sound of a slap echoing through the guildhall. "Damn it, Loke, you pervert, stop flirting with me, and keep your hands to yourself! I'm not one of your little bimbos!"

"But Lucy, my love, I can't stop doing something I'm not, well, doing. I'm not flirting with you, I'm quite serious!" he insisted, smiling disingenuously at the small blonde woman.

"No, you're not!" she ranted. "You wouldn't know how to be serious about a girl to save your life. So just stop it and go play your stupid games with someone else!"

Loke gave a cheeky smirk as he rubbed out the red in his face and stared after Lucy, his mind _clearly_ on other things than the relatively minor pain of her blow as he – and several others - watched her storm away.

Elfman shook his head, confused. He simply didn't get the playboy at _all._ "Why are you smiling? She just refused you – again!"

The lion glanced his way, his smirk widening into a wicked grin. "Oh, Elfman... has no one taught you _anything_ about women? It's all in the chase, my friend. If you knew what to look for, you'd realize that I'm closer to gaining my goal than ever. Only a little further now - I'm in the homestretch!"

The giant take-over mage stared at him dubiously. "And what, exactly, is your goal?"

With a chuckle, the spirit adjusted his suit jacket to lay just so and winked. "Why, to gain Lucy's heart, of course. I should think _that_ were obvious."

"Are you sure it's her heart you're after, and not something a great deal less... permanent?" a suspicious voice interrupted, and Loke and Elfman both turned to look at the speaker.

Erza stood behind them with her arms folded over her daunting and impressive assets – or so Loke considered them. Not as perfect as Lucy's, in his opinion - but still very impressive.

And dangerous. As he'd found out the hard way when he'd first met her.

In that spirit, his naughty grin softened into a real smile, and he shook his head. "I suppose I deserve that," he admitted wryly. "But yes... I'm after a great deal more than just a quick good time, so no worries. I won't hurt her, especially like that. I can't."

"How do I know you're serious?"

For a moment Loke's expression went deadly sober, all his normal teasing wiped from his face and voice. "Lucy's not that kind of girl, Erza. There are many different types, some for play and some for keeps, and I'm well aware of which are which. I've gone after plenty of good-time girls in my life-" he bowed a little ironically, "-as you're aware, so that I've changed the plan and am now stalking _her_ should tell you something – if you know anything about how these things work, anyway."

The redhead held his gaze in a weighing fashion for several tense seconds, and then she unbent and smiled. "Good! I'm glad to hear that. Since that's the case, I will be rooting for you. I think you two would look very good together."

"But I still don't see how you think you're so close to getting the girl," Elfman interrupted almost plaintively, and Loke turned his attention back to the big man, glad that he had the formidable requip mage in his corner.

It could have complicated his chase immensely if she'd decided against him. He still would have prevailed, mind. It would just have taken longer.

Surprisingly, it was Erza that answered before he had the chance to. "In a situation like this, the closer she is to losing her heart, the harder a woman fights. At the very end of her struggle, if the man pursuing her has gotten close enough, she will pour all of the last of her strength into one last attempt to escape. When that happens, the time has come for the male to pounce. It's exactly the same as when a predator is hunting its prey in the wild." She chuckled, then glanced at Loke with a knowing smile and an artfully cocked brow. "Which is a rather appropriate example, in this case," she added, "since you _are_ the embodiment of the zodiac lion. A great cat hunting a mate, hmm?"

The spirit's eyes sparkled even through his shades and he smirked again, a dangerous edge to it this time. "Quite so, my dear Erza, quite so. Although, I must admit I'm surprised by your most... eloquent and... _pointed_ explanation to Elfman on the amatory proclivities of male and female. You always seem so divorced from those types of pursuits."

"I'm not as innocent as all that," she replied, then changed the subject. Loke had his suspicions about the woman and just who had taught her the ropes, but he wasn't about to waste his time speculating on her love-life. He had his own to consider, after all.

A much more interesting topic, to be sure.

 _Oh, so close, my dear Lucy. So very, very close. Just a little further, and then you'll be mine._ He eyed her absolutely _delicious_ backside as she stomped up to the bar and began speaking to Mira, obviously ordering a drink to soothe her irritation.

His glasses glinted in the lights of the guildhall as he grinned.

 _You won't know what hit you, my little lioness..._

 _You're going down._

Elfman, still dubious, just shook his head as he watched the lion stalk his prey across the cavernous room. He really didn't get it at all, though if Erza understood and supported Loke in his quest, he supposed it would all work out. Then he blushed as Evergreen came into sight.

Perhaps it was time to pay attention to his own love-life – or current lack of one.

Not that he was interested in _her_ , you understand. His heart started pounding as she sort of meandered her way around the room and finally ended up at his table, but that was just coincidence.

Nope, she didn't have anything to do with it at all.

~~LoLu~~

Several days later, a triumphant and very smug Loke entered the guildhall with a blushing Lucy at his side, her hand tucked into his. It only took moments for everyone in the hall to notice, and a huge cheer went up for the new couple. Loke simply grinned through it all, though Lucy's blush only heightened at the attention. However, it was worth noting that she didn't let go of his hand, embarrassed or not.

It was rather obvious that both were very happy being right where they were, but Elfman frowned, still not understanding how a playboy like Loke had managed to convince a forever kind of girl like Lucy that he was serious about her.

His glance flicked over towards Evergreen, then back, and he pondered on whether he should ask the celestial lion to teach him how to grab the woman he wanted.

Not that his desired girl was _her_ , of course. He wanted these lessons for the future, so when he met the right girl he'd know what to do. He blushed as her eyes lifted at just the wrong moment and snagged in his, making his heart crawl up into his throat.

Nope... still not Ever. No way, no how – his racing heart and blushing face notwithstanding.

Then the woman in question smiled as her gaze moved away, and he relented, silently admitting that maybe...

Okay, so it _was_ her he wanted to catch. Now he just had to get Loke to coach him on what to do. After all, he'd successfully caught _his_ pretty little prey, just as he'd said he would, so he had to be doing _something_ right.

It never occurred to the giant takeover mage that in his case, maybe _he_ was the prey and _Ever_ was the predator...

~~LoLu~~

A/N: Okay, so I couldn't resist this little... whatever it is. I hope people enjoy, though!


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